Chapter 1028: A Deal for the Green Lantern Calf

Xia Qing had no idea that the leader of the Northern Wolf Pack had gone straight to the Western Pack’s territory. With the radio on, she finished her dinner, listened to the weather forecast as she cleaned the kitchen, and then jumped into her nightly training routine.

Strength drills, shuttle runs, spin kicks, rapid punches, precision work, breath training… Xia Qing nailed every one of them, giving it her all without slacking off. In a year of calamity like this, every bit stronger meant a better shot at survival. No one was watching—slacking off was as good as asking to die.

If she hadn’t trained so hard every single day, she never would’ve made it out alive from the collapsed pond on Hill Fifty-Five, or managed that pinpoint shot to take out those two blue-skinned undead on Hill Forty-Four.

After finishing her night training, Xia Qing made a round of the territory, checking in with Elder Wolf in the house ruins and Old Goat in the living room. She told them to guard the territory overnight. Then she went upstairs, showered, and was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Next morning, the freeloading Red Squirrel arrived right on schedule at Xia Qing’s bedroom window. Still half-asleep, Xia Qing stretched, pleased her abs and legs felt less sore, got dressed, pulled open the curtains, and set out pure spring water plus a handful of Yellow Lantern sunflower seeds for the big, bushy-tailed squirrel waving at her from the tree outside.

“Freeloader, the third Devastation Rain is coming soon. Hope you make it through in one piece.”

After that, Xia Qing gazed over her lush territory to make sure nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She headed down to wash up, kneaded Green Lantern wheat flour, chopped up Green Lantern vegetable leaves, mixed in Yellow Lantern cornmeal for the chickens, and then grabbed her basket to start her morning patrol.

As soon as Xia Qing left, the Red Squirrel hopped onto the windowsill, stuffing its cheeks with every seed before the birds could swoop in and making a dash back to its tree hollow.

Xia Qing always gave just the right amount—not one extra seed would fit in that squirrel’s cheeks.

With Elder Wolf off duty, catching bugs and feeding the chickens and fish all fell to her today.

“Xia Qing, is that you?”

While patrolling the southern stretch of the Wild Grass Wall, Xia Qing heard Tang Huai call out. She stepped past the grass and walked to the south gate.

Tang Huai jogged up with a grin, making small talk. “I knew it was you just from your footsteps! Did you hear the weather report last night? Only 19 hours left until the Devastation Rain.”

Xia Qing nodded. The rain was starting just after 1am. This third round of Devastation Rain came almost 20 hours sooner than last year, so all the territory leaders were thrilled.

Tang Huai was used to Xia Qing’s blank face and quiet replies. He kept grinning. “I scored two Green Lantern small-tailed sheep and a Green Lantern calf. I’m keeping the sheep, but do you want the calf? It’s five months old, female, and they say it gives a decent amount of milk—though it’s just a basic evolved breed.”

Of course she wanted it! Xia Qing asked, “How much?”

Tang Huai knew she’d be interested, and his smile got even wider. “You know how hot Green Lantern cows are right now. Took me ages to get one. 150,000 credits—can’t go a single credit lower.”

“Deal. Thanks.” A Green Lantern cat cub from Section Seven’s Strength Evolution was already selling for twenty thousand credits each. If it were an Ability Evolution cow, the price would be at least two hundred fifty thousand.

“Don’t thank me, just pay in credits.”

Tang Huai understood Xia Qing’s gruff ways, so he didn’t mention the Tang Family had sourced the calf at a high price from Base Lan Yi as a thank-you to her. He just laughed and added, “The calf and sheep are in my base’s standard greenhouse for now. You get your cowshed ready, and after Devastation Rain, when the road’s clear, I’ll have them delivered. I’ll even bring my sheep over for Old Goat—a friendly little showdown, eh?”

“Sounds good.”

Old Goat was always itching for a fight. Whenever new sheep showed up in the territory, it had to throw down and cement its place at the top of the pyramid. Xia Qing asked, “Both sheep are male?”

Tang Huai replied, “There’s a female too, but just the basic kind. I couldn’t get a Green Lantern Strength Evolution breed. When she goes into heat, I’ll bring her over for a few days.”

“Sure.” Xia Qing had already agreed to that a while ago.

Tang Huai wanted to ask about her and Hu Zifeng, but with Devastation Rain looming and Xia Qing the only one in Section Three, he knew she must be swamped. Better not be a bother. “That’s it then. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Okay,” Xia Qing replied, feeling lighter as she continued bug-catching and patrolling with her basket.

She was so close to having a grass-fed dairy cow for milk! In a year of disaster, raising a high-quality Green Lantern calf wasn’t easy. Green Lantern milk was selling for a fortune. If this calf survived, she’d have her very own supply in no time.

Xia Qing paused, checked her phone, and took a breath to steady herself.

Cows took a lot longer than sheep to mature. She’d have to raise this one for at least eighteen months before it could start producing. Meaning she was looking at more than a year before the first drop of milk.

During that time, anything could happen—the calf might not even make it. Still, even if she only got Green Lantern manure out of it, it’d be worth it.

After making the rounds, Xia Qing had caught two baskets of bugs—one went to the Green Lantern fish in the pond, the other to the Green Lantern chickens at home.

That spring, the three Green Lantern and four Yellow Lantern female fish in her fish tank had spawned tens of thousands of eggs. The pure spring water helped but the hatch rate still wasn’t great. Luckily, with such a huge batch, she still ended up with a teeming mass of fry—at least a few thousand.

She sorted the fry by the quality of the mother fish, then scattered them in two ponds to raise, feeding them on a diet of bugs, animal organs, and chopped Green Lantern grass and veggie leaves.

With Wolfdog Number Two on territory, bug feeding happened more often. Since Er left, Old Goat and Number Four just did the bare minimum. If Xia Qing was too busy, the pond fish had to scrape by on grass. There were so few people in Section Three that no one was dedicated to minding the pond, so birds like the Egret kept making off with their share.

That’s why, despite their numbers, Section Three’s fry weighed in at only the fourth lowest harvest in the Alliance this month.

Taking the bottom three spots? That’d be Territory Two, famous for bugs; Section Seven, all about research; and Territory Eight, master of birds.

Xia Qing had joined forces with Yang Jin to breed cordyceps fungus and take a stake in Hui Three Pharmaceutical. As the top ace sniper in charge of Ninth Center and Hill Fifty, she’d managed over three hundred Red Lantern fish, five hundred Yellow Lantern, and more than two hundred Green Lantern fish this season—plenty to be satisfied over.

A few days ago at the Alliance meeting, Yuan Yan suggested that during the Devastation Rain, territories should move their top-quality Green Lantern female fish into Hidden Valley so the bloodlines wouldn’t deteriorate. Xia Qing voted yes.

She didn’t rely on selling fish to survive, but she did want high-quality fish to eat. Any way to keep the fry strong without extra hassle? She was all for it.

After feeding the fish and the Green Lantern breadworms, Xia Qing brought home a basket of Green Lantern celery. The sound of her cleaver echoed as she chopped Green Lantern wild boar and celery, then tossed in seasonings and mixed everything well. Using dough she’d already set to rise, she steamed fifty pork buns—all ready for Devastation Rain.